Angelas story
by Cuey-Ko
Summary: This is a story I wrote for a friend... please R/R, be nice-ish cos its my first time posting a story! I rated it PG just in case of something... Chapter 2 up! Espeon acts dumb!
1. Default Chapter

The Nidoking slammed into the wall as Espeon's psychic attack hit it.  
  
I glanced down at my watch. The face was illuminated by a pale green light and the stopwatch mode was on. It read 1 minute and 46.23 seconds. I looked up again, my eyes only straining slightly in the darkness. The four corners of the room were lit with small, spherical lights. They gave off a little light, but not much. I could only just see the energy attacks Espeon was using. In pitch black her psychic attacks would light up the whole room.  
  
{Finish it. You're taking too long.} I thought coldly to my Espeon through the link that connected us. I know that might not sound very friendly, especially towards my own Poke'mon, but I didn't like the way Espeon was fighting- she was just playing with it.  
  
Espeon had been walking slowly toward the shaking form of the Nidoking slumped in a corner. She stopped and turned to look at me.  
  
{I was only having a little fun.} she said in her strange, chirpy, emotionless thought-voice.  
  
Espeon's tail twitched and her dark lavender eyes met my own.  
  
I looked back at her. I'd had Espeon since I was 5 and I knew her pretty well. I loved her dearly; she was like a sister to me. But I still wasn't sure I liked what she become when she fought. It made me… uncomfortable, reminded me that she would never be that close to me as long as I was human and she was a Poke'mon. Albeit a very intelligent, sentient one, but there was something they lacked when it came to emotions like compassion.  
  
{You've had enough fun.} I replied.  
  
Espeon stepped forward. Her tail twitched.  
  
{Fine then.}  
  
Her eyes glowed. I saw a rush of purple energy flood toward the Nidoking and hit it. It struggled to get up for a moment, then lay still. I hit the stop button on my watch.  
  
The floor beneath the huge Nidoking dropped and it fell down. I wasn't worried about it. The Poke'mon we use for practice are raised in the labs. It would go straight to the Gym's Poke Center. I uncrossed my arms, reached out my hand and flicked the light switch. The lights whirred as they slowly shifted to full power. I bashed the switch with my fist and they came on completely. Espeon walked over to me.  
  
{We should get in an electrician to change those lights.} She commented, tilting her head toward the steadily buzzing light next to me.  
  
I smiled at her.  
  
"You did good." I told her, speaking aloud this time.  
  
I dropped down into a crouch and ran my hand along her back.  
  
{Grammar.} she absently reminded me, purring.  
  
"Not even a scratch. That was a pretty strong Nidoking. You're getting better."  
  
{It was easy} Espeon boasted happily, arching her back.  
  
"1 minute and 55.09 seconds." I said as I checked my watch.  
  
{Sugoi! Am I getting better?}  
  
I nodded then looked down at my watch. It was late.  
  
I turned off the light and walked out the door.  
  
Espeon followed, her thought voice filling my head as she continued talking about her battle times. I stuck my hands in the pockets of my jeans and smiled lightly at her as we walked into the corridor.  
  
Nearly everyone was gone. The lights in the corridors were off. I knew my way around the corridors pretty well, but there were lots of corridors. A lot of the junior trainers got lost in here. I was certainly not a junior trainer, but it was pitch black in the corridor.  
  
"Light please." I murmured quietly to Espeon, lifting up my hand and running it along the wall as I walked, feeling the strip of wood that ran along the middle of the wall.  
  
A small ball of purple light appeared in front of us. The walls of the corridor were suddenly lit by an eerie purple glow. The doors to various rooms were all closed. Only a few people would still be here, training in one of the many training rooms or working in the offices or labs. We turned into the main corridor. It was brighter in here- light coming from the foyer and…. A trickle of light flowing from under a door. A sign told me it was a lab.  
  
{Who could be in here at this hour of night?} I asked Espeon through our link.  
  
I cautiously opened the door. It looked just like any other laboratory. A white tiled floor and rows of desks cluttered with equipment, computers and papers. The room was devoid of people except for a tiny figure hunched over a glowing computer screen muttering to itself. From the dim glow of the computer screen I noted the person had bright blue hair. Now I knew who it was. I rolled my eyes ceiling-ward.  
  
{Should of known it'd be Ektome} I thought scornfully, partly to my self and partly to Espeon.  
  
Ektome was one of the lab workers at the Gym. She was 2 years younger than my 15, and painfully bright. Well, in the world of geniuses, I guess you could say she wasn't great, I mean for all her IQ points her handwriting was awful really. She had been working here a few months, specializing in Biotechnics (and everything else really), and already she was proving to know much more than most of the senior lab workers. Obviously, they hated being outshined by a kid, so Ektome wasn't really popular with her co- workers. Or anyone else really. Everyone found her intimidating. God knows why.  
  
Ektome heard my footsteps, and her ears practically pricked. She spun around with an expression of surprise on her face, which quickly changed to joy.  
  
"Hi Grialis!" she cried, waving so hard I thought her arm would fly off.  
  
I raised a hand in greeting.  
  
"Have you been drinking coffee again? I told you not to. It'll stunt your growth." I said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh come on!" she replied airily, vigorously shaking her head. Her short bob bounced in all directions.  
  
"You know I'm always gonna be small!"  
  
I shook my head, then walked over to her. Espeon leaped onto the desk, curling around the computer and mewing in fascination. Espeon loves computers. Ektome's pet Magnemite buzzed in annoyance as it was forced to rise into the air. I ran my head over the shiny surface of its head to calm it down before it decided to shock us.  
  
Leaning over her shoulder, I squinted at the screen. A bunch of meaningless letters and symbols. I'm not big on computers, and I couldn't understand any of it. They obviously meant something to Ektome though, who was typing so fast I could hardly see her hands. Something good must have happened then, because the colour of the screen changed to green and more weird symbols flooded the screen. Ektome flung her arms into the air, knocking me onto my butt.  
  
"Hurray!" she shrieked.  
  
I got up and dusted my self off, then leaned over her shoulder again and frowned. These symbols didn't look promising. I'd seen them before, mainly in lame movies about hackers, but also when I was with Ektome.  
  
"Are you hacking again?"  
  
{I think she i-is! I know these symbols!} sang Espeon inside my head.  
  
I made a face inwardly. It was embarrassing having a Poke'mon who knew more about computers than you. Ektome spun her chair around and put on a face.  
  
"I wasn't doing anything!" she whined, giving me her most sad and pathetic puppy dog look.  
  
"Ek, you know you'll lose your job here if you get caught again!"  
  
Ek hung her head. I knew she wasn't worried about a job. There were plenty of jobs for smart kids like her. She was thinking about the part I had neglected to add- 'And your home.'  
  
Ektome didn't really have parents. Well she did, but I got the feeling they barely knew she was alive, and didn't care where she was. I didn't know much about them. I had heard some things about them, but apparently they had worked long hours and never had much time for her. When they did have time, they went out to parties and left her at home. They knew nothing about her. She did pretty badly at school, which they weren't happy with, so they sent her to tutors. The tutors always found there was nothing wrong with her, so they sent her back. What her parents didn't realize was that she wasn't trying in school because it was far too easy for her. Eventually Ek ran away. I'm not sure when- maybe one, two years ago. The Gym leader, Sabrina, found her and took her in. Ek got a room in the Gym dorm for free. A lot of trainers choose to live here rather than somewhere else. It made it easier, plus rooms were cheap, and hard to find elsewhere. If Ek was caught hacking, her co-workers wouldn't hesitate to report her. Like I said, she's not exactly popular. If she lost her job, she lost her home. At her age, the only place she could go to was a foster home- or live on the street. Ek would never go to a foster home if her life depended on it. Actually, neither would I. And I wasn't too sure Ek would do well on the street either.  
  
{Say something!} announced Espeon in my head. {Look at her. She's unhappy.}  
  
I patted Ektome's shoulder awkwardly. It seemed the right thing to do, given the current situation.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Just don't take chances ok?"  
  
Ek glanced up and smiled.  
  
"Kay."  
  
"I'd better go now. It's late. See ya." I said, drawing my hand back quickly and sticking it in my pocket. I'm not exactly a touchy-feely kind of person, and forced contact doesn't feel right.  
  
Espeon leaped gracefully down from the desk and walked toward me, rubbing along Ektome's leg as a passing gesture.  
  
"Bye!"  
  
As I walked toward the door I turned and raised my hand with a smile.  
  
"Later." 


	2. Part 2

Capitolo Duo  
  
Espeon and I were walking along the darkened street. It was so late the only people who were out now were the drunks from the pubs and clubs. We didn't exactly live in the greatest neighborhood. I wasn't worried about them. Espeon and I could take on anyone. I stopped out the front of the apartment I shared with my dad. My dad was a doctor in the emergency room at the hospital. He worked the late night shift. I glanced at my watch.  
  
1:23 am.  
  
He'd be home in a few minutes.  
  
{He. We beat him back.} I notified Espeon silently.  
  
That meant I'd have time to make dinner. We always ate dinner late. I usually trained from the afternoon, and it wasn't unusual for me to stay at the Gym later than this. I slept for most of the day- like my dad. We walked up the concrete steps to our apartment building, Espeon walking daintily on the railing next to me. I let myself into the foyer then punched our code into the lift, grateful for the gentle yellow glow of the lights that lit up the various objects in the foyer and illuminated Espeon and I. Our neighbourhood may not be great, but our apartment building is very nice indeed. Espeon trotted into the lift and we went up. I watched her as we ascended. She jiggled slightly, bouncing on her paws as we went up. Don't ask me why she jiggles, it's one of those weird habits people have. I get the feeling she doesn't enjoy the lift. With a ding, the doors opened onto our hallway. I stepped out and Espeon raced out and over to the door, relieved to be out of the lift.  
  
{What do you feel like for dinner tonight?} I asked Espeon as I unlocked the door and turned on the light.  
  
{Chicken.} she replied a matter-of-factly.  
  
{Right. Let's get some chicken.}  
  
I walked into the kitchen and dug through the freezer for a minute, searching for chicken, then pulled out three microwave meals. Ahhh, microwave meals, mans greatest invention, and the extent of my cooking abilities.  
  
"Teriyaki chicken and rice. Will this do?" I asked, stepping back and closing the freezer door.  
  
Espeon wasn't listening. She was sitting on the couch and trying to turn on the TV. The remote control was not designed for paws.  
  
{Gri, this remote is broken.} she informed me.  
  
I didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't. I sighed and stuck the plastic bowls in the microwave, then pressed 'Heat'.  
  
I heard the sound of the door being unlocked.  
  
"Hello?" asked my dad as he stepped through the door. Espeon leaped off the couch and climbed onto him like a monkey, purring loudly. I smiled at him.  
  
"Hi Dad. I was just fixing dinner."  
  
My dad returned the smile and rubbed his hands together, as he moved his head to the side, trying to remove Espeon's nose from his ear.  
  
"Great. I'm starving. Espeon, your whiskers are tickling me." He announced enthusiastically.  
  
"So, how was your shift?" I asked my dad as I set the table.  
  
He yawned as he somehow managed to disentangle Espeon from his shoulders and remove his coat at the same time.  
  
"Interesting…" he said thoughtfully.  
  
DING! our microwave declared.  
  
"Dinners ready." I told him.  
  
My dad sat down at the table. Espeon strolled over to her placemat on the floor next the table and sat waiting expectantly. I took the bowls out of the microwave and plonked them on the table, then took the top one and peeled off the wrapper for Espeon. She twined around my legs as I set it on the floor, purring happily.  
  
{Chicken is good.} she decided as she buried her head in the bowl and started eating.  
  
"Teriyaki chicken. My favourite!" said my dad.  
  
He started eating. I poked my fork into the rice and studied it for a moment. There was a question I wanted to ask, and it was annoying me. We ate microwave meals every single night. We had done so ever since I could remember.  
  
"Dad… when was the last time we ate real food?"  
  
He stopped and fixed me with an astonished look.  
  
"This isn't real food? What are they putting into instant food these days?" he exclaimed, shaking his head and preparing to take another mouthful.  
  
"No," I said patiently "I mean non-instant food. Cooked food made from scratch."  
  
My dad thought for a moment.  
  
"Christmas." he said through a mouthful of rice.  
  
"At Grandma's?" I supplemented.  
  
{Turkey…is good} interrupted Espeon helpfully as she sat, cleaning teriyaki sauce off her whiskers.  
  
"Is food all you think about?" I asked her crossly.  
  
My dad looked confused for a moment. The link was only between Espeon and I, so he could only hear one side of the conversation.  
  
I pushed my chair out and picked up my bowl and put in the bin.  
  
"I'm going to bed. Night Dad."  
  
I blew a kiss to him and clicked my fingers.  
  
Espeon scampered over to trot at my heels as I walked out of the kitchen. As I walked through the hall to my bedroom I thought about 'real food'. I don't even know why I asked the question. Strange things come into your mind when you're attempting to make conversation. I did like Grandma's turkey, but it didn't compare to my mothers. I could hardly remember her now, but I remembered her cooking. She was a great cook. When I was 7 she had left to become a Poke'mon trainer. The last I had heard of her was when I was eight. She had sent me Espeon's (Evee's) Poke'ball in the mail. There had been a letter with it, but I had forgotten to take in the mail and it had rained. The Poke'ball was the only part that didn't disintegrate. I had often wondered what that letter had contained. I don't regard letters as being that important though. All that romantic stuff about the poetry of letters and how much nicer they are than email is rubbish. Our letterbox is better now; an airtight stainless steel number, but we never did get another letter from her.  
  
***  
  
I opened my door and flicked on the light. My bed growled sleepily. The tip of a black nose appeared and Growlithe's head poked out from under the covers. He realized who I was. With it an excited yip, he leapt from my bed and onto me in a blur of orange stripes. I felt like he'd performed a Takedown on me. Growlithe washed my face vigorously. I had received him for Christmas from my dad. He was still too young to be training with me, so he stayed at home and slept, which was fine with him. He finished with me and sat there with a huge grin on his little orange face, wagging his tail and panting. Then he noticed Espeon sitting next to me. She regarded him gravely as he stood up and sank down on his two front paws, then wagged his lower half exuberantly in an invitation to play. Espeon continued to stare at him  
  
with a regal air. He leaped at her, and she gently batted him away.  
  
{Oh go away you silly thing!} She told him in a vexed thought-voice.  
  
He couldn't understand her of course, but he settled back onto his haunches with a pitiful look. I scooped him up.  
  
"Let's feed you." I told him with a smile.  
  
When I got to the kitchen Dad wasn't there. He was already in bed, and by the time I finished feeding Growlithe he'd be snoring. I rummaged through our pantry and produced a can of Poke'mon food. I scooped it out of the can and into a bowl, then stuck it in the microwave. Growlithe sat at my feet, wagging his tail with delight and drooling. Espeon watched him carefully from the top of the microwave, as though she was afraid he'd try to play with her again. The microwave 'dinged' and I retrieved Growlithe's food bowl, trying not to get knock over as he leaped at me, barking and drooling in ecstasy at the prospect of food. I set it on the ground. Growlithe attacked the bowl of food with great ferocity and by the time I had counted to two the food was gone. Espeon twined gracefully down her perch onto my shoulders.  
  
{No manners at all.} she snootily said in clipped tones, settling around my neck.  
  
Growlithe sat on the floor, wagging his tail.  
  
"That's it, G-Chan." I informed him sadly as I scooped him up and headed toward my bedroom. It was well past 2 am, but I didn't feel tired. My body's emergency store of adrenaline and sugar was kicking in. But my eyes ached from staying open. I rubbed them roughly with my fists to stop the itch behind my lids. Nothing happened. Definitely bed time. I strained to keep my eyes open as I changed for bed. Espeon watched me from my bedside table. Growlithe was snoring gently already.  
  
{What is it with humans and clothes?} she inquired.  
  
I finished buttoning my pajama top and scratched my head, thinking of a reply that wouldn't confuse her or make her feel silly.  
  
"Well, most people think that clothes are good. They cover us up… from weather, and things… like… erm… tree branches and insects." I said awkwardly.  
  
{Then why do you wear them? The weather is always nice here, and there are no trees or insects around here.}  
  
"Geez, I dunno. Habit. Go to bed, Espeon."  
  
It annoyed me when Espeon asked questions like this. It was a constant reminder that she would never even be close to human. I had a tendency to forget that sometimes.  
  
I clambered in, suddenly tired as my body's energy reserves began to run low. Espeon slipped under the covers with me.  
  
"Night."  
  
I flicked my light switch and the room grew dark. Espeon fell asleep quickly. I stayed awake; too agitated to sleep despite the growing blanket of tiredness that threatened to engulf me. I stared at the wall. I hated insomnia. I never knew when I would get it,  
  
{Shut up. Get some sleep.}Espeon ordered me sluggishly.  
  
I sighed again and closed my eyes. Espeon was right. I needed some sleep. 


End file.
